//ryanweaver.me//

I wonder how much more effective our churches would be if we made the pastor’s spiritual health- not the pastor’s efficiency- our number one priority.

+ Philip Yancey

It is my commitment to shepherd and lead Remedy Church with only as much strength as the Lord allows me each day, each week, each month, each year. During the month of August, I will be taking my first sabbatical in over eleven years of pastoral ministry. During this sabbatical month, I will be scheduling (and un-scheduling) time for the following five priorities…

::Here’s my Sabbatical Plan::

• Resting… I will be filling my days with scheduled time for prayer, reflection, silence, and activities that re-fuel my soul.
• Reading… I will be reading through the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) to re-remember why I love and serve Jesus of Nazareth… and I have been collecting books that I wouldn’t normally have time to read (some of these books include:: Killing Cockroaches, Linchpin, Purple Cow, ReWork, Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People).
• Reflecting… I will be attending five or six unique religious congregations (none named “Remedy Church”) in my city that have different theologies to listen, learn, and contemplate my approach to pastoring and leading Remedy Church.
• Writing… I will be carving out time daily to write in my journal, weblog, and the planning/writing of our sermon calendar in 2011 for Remedy Church.
• Visioneering… I will be spending much time over this month praying through our Remedy Church vision (Go. Be. Do.), our systems, our leadership structure, and our ministry strategies.

Please commit to pray for me this month as I rest, read, write, and visioneer…

Schedule rests in BEFORE your calendar fills up. Rest is not an afterthought; it has to be a primary RESPONSIBILITY. It brings a rhythm back to life and a cadence that makes life sustainable. If you are tired, your soul gets weary. And if your soul gets weary, you have depleted more than you can afford.

+ Wayne Cordiero (Leading on Empty)

Here are some sabbatical resources that I have found helpful as I have been praying and preparing for this time of extended and purposeful rest…

• Tim Stevens’ blog on making a case for a sabbatical… HERE
• Mark Batterson’s recent blog about sabbatical ideas… HERE
• Article from 9Marks about caring for a pastor… HERE
• Article on the purpose of a sabbatical from my-pastor.com… HERE
• Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordiero

…………………………

//rweaver//